Ending the Cycle
by Green the Cat
Summary: Just before the day the get married, Kotone and Steven are torn apart. Forced to relive moments of the past, Kotone tries to remember everything with what little pieces she's kept. Steven remembers everything, but the cycle never lets him close enough to her. To avoid everything they were so they can keep their future together, they'll have to end the cycle binding them.
1. Beginning the Cycle

_ Hello to all! I am Green the Cat, your personal guide to this story. My humble apologizes to any grammar and/or spelling flaws as well as any lack of coherency in future updates. This will be my first attempt at a chapter story and hopefully it's better than my one-shot 'Take A Chance' - I really need to rework that one. Your guide has a few things to say before allowing you to move, if you're reading this:_

_I do not Pokemon nor will I ever, this is the only place the disclaimer will be on that note because I am of the opinion that I need only type this once and those 'conversations' with an OC of yours are incredibly boring._

_I doubt this story will receive much attention, due to the odd pairing, however if you are one of those rabid fangirls - or fanboys, I won't be sexist - just, please, don't give me a rant._

_I ask you to forgive my lack of caring to your beliefs about so-called 'ships' as in SoulSilverShipping (I think that's Kotone x Silver). If I'm writing this, I obviously already don't care, you don't have to point this out to me either._

_If you're still on the page and don't mind a little Steven x Kotone, read on._

_WARNING: EDITED!_

* * *

Kotone smoothed out her skirt only to start twirling her brown hair around her finger. A sigh sounded next to her.

"He's not going to eat you. Just calm down, you look fine.," the man next to her said. Kotone reached over and pinched him.

"This coming from the man who waited until after he proposed to invite his father to dinner with his girlfriend.," Kotone snapped, then bit her lip, "I'm sorry."

Her fiancé raised a single silver brow before chuckling.

"Well, when you put it that way, you have several reasons to want to smack me. I think I can handle minor insults.," he said, a smile spread across his face.

"Steven, I will have Kaname hide your rocks.," Kotone said, a smirk flicking across her features as Steven paled at the mention of her Typhlosion.

"Well, you certainly know how to keep my son in line.," a booming voice said with a chuckle.

"Oh, hi, Dad. This is Kotone.," Steven said while wrapping an arm around her shoulders. Kotone's frozen form stumbled closer to Steven.

"Hello, Mr. Stone.," Kotone said after a moment of being stared at by Steven's father.

Fortunately, a waiter came by and led them to a table, giving Kotone plenty of time to mentally recover. She gave her fiancé a glare, she was taking away his rocks when they got home. Kotone sighed, until then she would play with Steven's pale hair. She never could decide if it was silver, more than likely it's actual color, or some odd shade of blue.

As they sat down and looked through the menus, Mr. Stone stopped to look at her, then spoke to his strange son.

"Steven, I meet your girlfriends in passing when you meet them at the door, not for dinner. No offense, but isn't she a bit young?," he asked, sitting back slightly in case his son finally snapped at him.

Needless to say, when both Steven and Kotone started laughing behind their menus, he was noticeably surprised. Mr. Stone waited a moment for one of them to calm down before shooting a look at Steven. Steven only laughed harder, but ducked behind his menu after Kotone pinched his arm. Kotone took a breath to swallow her giggles, then smiled at Mr. Stone.

"You're just as weird as he is. Thanks for the compliment, but I'm nineteen and I'll be twenty in about a month.," Kotone said

"Orders, sirs, ma'am?," a waiter said as he bowed his head.

"He," Kotone said while poking Steven's nose, "Will have a steak, medium-rare, and a glass of soda with some salad."

Steven merely stared at Kotone's finger and nodded, he knew she was hiding his stones later. Kotone smiled at the waiter, her index finger pressed against Steven's nose and waved a hand at Mr. Stone.

Mr. Stone ordered while wondering what had gotten into to Steven, he was always an odd child, and his girlfriend, she appeared to be even stranger. He nearly jumped out of his chair when he found her chocolate gaze on him.

"If you can, miso soup and crab sushi with jasmine tea. Thank you.," Kotone said, then tilted her head like a Meowth.

Steven had recovered from his earlier laughter and was now frowning at his father, his yellow-gold eyes focused on his father's face.

"Dad.," Steven said, "What do you mean meet my girlfriend? Kotone is my fiancée."

Mr. Stone nearly fell out of his chair as their orders arrived.

"Sir? Is everything alright?," the waiter asked.

He managed to nod while staring at his son and the girl. She smiled and nodded, then turned and asked for chopsticks. He noticed that she only used her spoon to fish out the pieces of tofu before grabbing the bowl and sipping at her soup daintily. She placed the bowl down before leveling her gaze on him again.

"You and I both know that Steven is going to do this with or without your approval.," Kotone said, her voice surprisingly firm, "But we, well I, would like to know that you're not plotting murder or planning on disowning him."

Steven gave a quiet snort before swallowing his food. He pointed a fork at his father, a scowl set on his face.

"Kotone didn't even know who our family was before this dinner.," Steven said, "Which is what he's concerned about. It's nothing against you, Kotone, it's people who would take advantage over that fact."

Kotone merely rolled her eyes before shaking her head with a smile.

"If your worried about your money, I make plenty on my own.," Kotone said before picking up a sushi roll and eating it.

Dinner, after that, became a fairly normal affair. Small talk was made and Mr. Stone supplied unintentional humor for Kotone. Kotone Silverton, Mr. Stone learned, had an older sister named Kristal and they were raised, for the most part, by their mother. He also learned quite a bit else about his to-be daughter-in-law: she wasn't a Champion though she had defeated Lance, she preferred collecting gym badges, she was fascinated by evolution stones, she called Steven's fascination with stones his 'Something-Shiny Syndrome', and she liked traveling in traditional trainer fashion – tents and campfires. As Mr. Stone watched Kotone, he watched his son come out of the shell he hid in.

When Steven and Kotone left, they waved and released a Pokémon each before flying off to wherever the two were headed.

* * *

"If this ends badly, I blame you.," Steven said before tangling a hand in Kotone's hair as she kissed him.

Steven was many things, however, a man that liked traipsing about in the rain was not one of them. He also wasn't too tolerant of being stuck in a house for several days without anything to do really – he needed to buy some kind of entertainment for such an instance. Kotone seemed to agree with him and had previously pulled a deck of cards out of her bag. Steven had long ago given up on figuring out why Kotone had half of the things she carried around in that tan bag of hers. Though as wonderful as the break from boredom had been, all good things must come to end. Unfortunately, the power went out in the middle of a strange game of Uno. At this point, Kotone threw up the cards and yanked him by his shirt towards her. Which led to the current situation of her sitting in his lap while she decided that his suit needed to come off. Steven decided not to argue.

"I'll save you from my mother, but the wedding is tomorrow anyway. So shut up and let's have fun.," Kotone said, her voice barely above a whisper.

He groaned, but agreed anyway.

* * *

Dark, dark, and more dark greeted Kotone as she awoke. She rolled over and wrapped an arm around Steven. Steven twisted toward her and opened his gold eyes. Kotone smiled and opened her mouth, but words wouldn't come. Steven sat up, pulling her with him, before looking at her with concern etched onto his face.

Kotone felt tears well up and she buried her face in Steven's shoulder. She trembled, something felt wrong about this darkness, she couldn't even see the interior of Steven's house. It was thick and permeated with sorrow and, something's, giddiness. Kotone's lips trembled, but she managed to speak.

"Don't forget me, Steven, and remember that I love you."

She never heard his response, never saw his face, as the darkness consumed her.

* * *

_Finally, I got around to editing this son of a bitch. No really, I was starting to feel bad because I couldn't get around to doing this. So the previous author's note is gone, I hear the sound of hands hitting foreheads, however – for the sake of everyone reading this I'll replace all actual story-related material, my rants will more than likely change though… Well, enough of that boring stuff about me, here's the goods._

_Kanto and Johto = Japan. I'm not going to use customs that have people going 'huh?', just the ones I know most people know of – if it is not one of said commonly known customs, there will be info down here and a warning at the top._

_Okay, now that all that stuff has been covered, remember feedback is appreciated. Also, please don't plot my murder while I'm editing this monster and no projectile weaponry either – this includes missiles, pencils, snowballs, water balloons, food, rubber bands, ect. Any who, enjoy the edited version of 'Ending the Cycle' and I'll update as soon as possible._

_With all this said and done, adieu – Green the Cat_


	2. Restart

_Okay, this chapter starts the major editing. If you already started reading and have been waiting for me to finish, please, just start over from the beginning… it would probably be more beneficial to you. Kill me with my spork later… I'll stand still for you if you just refrain for right now._

* * *

Darkness, the color of ebony, filled her vision as she came to – her memory seemed fuzzy, even her gender escaped her at the moment. She looked down, but couldn't see herself so she looked up. A light sparked, flickered, then consumed all of the darkness around her.

"Welcome!," a voice greeted, a man she realized. He talked fast or maybe she couldn't understand what he was saying. Where was she from again?

"Oh! So you're a girl? Yes, I see you are. Now, what is your name?," the man continued, oblivious to her inability to comprehend what was happening.

A name sounded on the tip of her tongue, but she couldn't remember all of it. After opening and closing her mouth to attempt to remember, she realized that she was mute. She froze, terrified of everything going on in this strange room, realm, region - she had no idea where she was or what to call it.

"Avery is it? That's a wonderful name!," he said and waved his hand, "Have an exciting adventure!"

Something – no, someone caught her eye as the man seemed to be tugged right of existence. However, though they seemed familiar, she couldn't catch anything other than a jaded blue stare.

Avery collapsed in the floor as the room - dream - faded and she curled in on herself on her bedroom floor. After a moment, she stood and looked at herself in the mirror. She was petite with brown hair and equally brown eyes, with pale skin. Avery frowned, she didn't think she was this young. She placed a hand to her head, a headache had bloomed during her observations.

"Avery, Professor Elm wanted to see you!," a woman called from downstairs.

Avery walked downstairs and saw her mother - weren't they supposed to- Her thoughts were cut off by her headache so she opted to look around instead. Nothing appeared to be wrong with her house, but still something seemed… off, perhaps? Avery knocked on the counter, waved to her mother, and walked out the door while doing everything, little it maybe, to ignore her thoughts and the simple feeling of wrong that suffocated her. Avery entered the Elm Pokémon Lab, quietly shutting the door behind her and she walked up to the thin man.

"Ah! Avery, excellent timing! You see, I want your help with some research I'm doing for a paper.," Elm said while pushing his glasses up. "My research is based on just walking with Pokémon like people did before the PokéBall was invented. There must have been some kind of benefit to it if people preferred walking than using an Apricorn."

A beep sounded and Elm rushed over to his computer. Avery occupied herself by observing the three PokéBalls sitting in a machine. Avery's mind tugged at a wisp of memory, a large mostly blue and cream creature breathing fire. Her headache flared and the creature was lost. He - she was fairly sure it was a boy - had a name, she knew, but she couldn't grasp it. Avery was dazed and when Elm gave her the task of visiting his friend she nodded, pointing a finger in the direction of the PokéBalls. The professor asked her something, but everything he said jumbled together and she merely nodded. He handed her a PokéBall and she released the creature within, a brilliant turquoise crocodile.

Elm stepped back in surprise as if he expected her to choose something else, then took her PokéGear and punched in a number.

"If something happens I'll call, now off you go!," Elm said and gave her a gentle push towards the door.

Avery left, but as she did so, everything blurred together. Though there were days - or were there - there was no form of weather other than one route - Route 33, if she was correct. Avery accomplished everything, but something in the back her mind tugged at her. She shouldn't be praised, this is someone else's place. The grudging praise Adrian - the redhead with silver eyes - gave her wasn't for her. Something - with silver hair that never laid flat and deep gold eyes - said her name wasn't Avery, but he dispersed as soon as she tried to grasp anything. Avery figured she was crazy, insane really, then she met him.

* * *

Steven choked as soon as he saw her. Smiling as she walked around Vermillion Port with - was that a Feraligatr? He fingered the ring he had meant to give her before - or after, if he was speaking chronologically. When Steven saw Latios and Latias flying around, he knew he had his reason to approach her. He had to keep to events somewhat, but when Silv- Adrian, he reminded himself, stayed so close to her as if he liked her. They were ten or twelve, Steven couldn't really remember when he first met Kotone, though he knew he was five years older than her, almost six actually, he couldn't recall his age. This was fine by him, if he had to forego knowing his age in exchange for his memories, he was damn happy to comply. Steven walked over to her, glad that Arceus let him keep the ring he had given her. This world was wrong, Silver would be Silver, not Adrian, and hanging around Gold - he never really would be Ethan in personality to Steven - while Kristal tried to kiss him in public. He stopped in front of her and took a deep breath, he knew he was mentally older than whatever perception the world had warped everyone to.

"That was Latios, he appeared to be looking for his sister, Latias. I'm a bit curious as to why Pokémon from places like Hoenn and Sinnoh are appearing here in Kanto and Johto.," Steven said handing her pictures of the two Pokémon. She stared at him for a moment before smiling and nodding.

Steven watched her as she observed both the pictures and him, he remembered Kotone doing it to him the first time they met. She - he couldn't call her Kotone in right mind- reached a hand into her bag and pulled something out. She flashed him her trainer card: Avery. With a pain in his soul, he glanced away and went to turn away from this cruel mockery of life, but Avery had grabbed onto his jacket while she held her head. Steven grabbed the PokéGear hanging off her bag while she leaned against him, he punched in his PokéNav number and pulled out the ring he gave her and still intended to give her.

Avery straightened and looked at him as he handed her the phone back. Steven, her mind supplied the name, smiled and directed her to hold out her hand. The Hoenn Champion smiled at her before dropping something in her hand and walking off, his silver hair being hidden amongst the crowd of people. Adrian ran towards her, his red hair such a vibrant contrast to Steven's silver. Was his name really Steven?

Avery frowned and slipped the ring onto her left ring finger, she couldn't place what told her to so. Adrian gave her hand nothing more than a passing glance, barely a glance at that.

"Marshmallow head, the boat's leaving and your mom wanted you home in the next three days for something.," Adrian said, he knew she would forget and her mom paid nicely for him to half-ass keep track of her.

Avery nodded as she smiled and walked towards the pier. Damn girl was going to be the death of him, but at least she was mute.

* * *

_Okay, though not much was actually subtracted, some very important stuff was added. Therefore, this edit is a success. Any who, to save me some time, I'll of the author's notes are going to be prewritten from the bottom of the first chapter/prologue onward. Oh yeah, there will be no challenges for this story – they didn't exist when I first started writing for this so I won't just toss them in here__._

_On the up hand, my author's notes will shrink… hopefully anyway. While I'm on the subject, once I finish all the editing for the current chapters, all updates – until this beast is finished – will be on Saturday, specific time is up for debate, but whatever…_

_Ah, who needs sleep anyway, adieu – Green the Cat_


	3. Renew

_Okay, Green is on a roll. Hopefully you're enjoying this story – editing and all._

* * *

Avery went through the rest of her challenges quickly, never losing, but when she fought Red everything came tumbling down.

Her breath came in ragged gasps and she fought to stay standing. Her loyal Feraligatr, was hunched over and nearly unconscious. She issued a command, but the - what was she fighting again? Avery's memory began falling apart as Red's Pokémon defeated her Feraligatr, the big jaw unable to take anymore.

Red watched as the girl held her head in her hands, he almost wondered if he should check on her. He decided against it, but started to reconsider when she didn't move towards her Pokémon and simply collapsed in the snow. She gave a weak, hollow giggle and Red stepped back from her.

"I never fought you, Kris did. She won and I was a bit disappointed. She knew I was fighting Lance that day and I just wanted a little acknowledgement - just…a little…," Avery said, her voice trailing off and being swallowed by the blizzard around them. For a brief moment, she was herself again and all too soon the darkness reclaimed her.

She knew something bad was about to happen, but what was it? Avery couldn't place where she knew this feeling and vaguely wondered if she had always had memory problems. She closed her eyes and everything left her.

* * *

When she opened her eyes, she was laying on her bed. She couldn't place what felt wrong, though being fully dressed in bed was not helping matters. Her cinnamon gaze avoided the mirror on her dresser, even as she placed the glass face-down on the wood surface.

"Yumi! Elm, our next door neighbor, wants to see you!," her mother called from downstairs.

Yumi stumbled as she started to the stairs. Her name wasn't Yumi. She was, she was - she couldn't remember. Yumi wanted to scream, but her voice wouldn't work. She nearly clawed at her throat, but she realized the name that had briefly touched her thoughts sounded no more right than Yumi. Her hands fell to her sides. She went downstairs and completed the tasks set for her, but somehow she wasn't shocked to end up with a Chikorita and start her own journey.

All of the tasks blurred together, the whole journey itself really, but when she met the Violet City gym leader a hope bloomed inside of her. Any chance to escape the sheer wrong she felt that stemmed from nearly everything she did, she grabbed onto tightly.

Hayato was nearly stunned when he was his next challenger walked across the beams in the roof of his gym. She was graceful, that was sure, but something was off. Her brown eyes were too old, too sad. Her walk was less walking and more floating, for lack of a better word. She looked like a ghost stuck for a reason even she didn't know. When she approached, she flashed her trainer card and gave a quick, respectful bow.

"You're Yumi. I am Hayato.," he said before bowing his head in respect for her manners. "Shall we?"

Hayato pulled a PokéBall from his haori, twirling it in his fingers in smooth motion. Yumi motioned to Pokémon behind her and a Chikorita stepped up to challenge him. He released a Pidgey and proceeded to choreograph a fairly intriguing battle to those watching.

Yumi couldn't help but be reminded of something while she battled Hayato. A man with not quite blue hair, silver actually, who was just as elegant as Hayato, perhaps more so. Yumi knew few people who could actually match Hayato in elegance. Something about the way he held himself, even when it became more and more apparent that he would lose this match. Hayato merely smiled as he handed her both the Zephyr badge and a TM, then bowed to her as she stepped back. Yumi bowed her head and left, she really needed to figure out how to get in touch with the young man.

* * *

Steven was talking to a secretary at Silph Co. when he noticed her. Kotone was a splash of red and brown in the corner of his eye. He quickly finished his 'conversation' before turning on his heel and walking over to her. Steven nearly gave a sigh of relief when she didn't question him, though her head was tilted to the side with a warm smile. He went to speak, but she held up her hand before pointing to her throat. Ah, Kotone still couldn't talk. Steven felt a familiar weight rest on his shoulders before she pulled a slip of paper out of her bag and handed it to him. His eyebrows shot up, then he looked at her carefully, almost afraid. Steven merely nodded as he handed her the paper back.

Yumi smiled as she took the paper, then pulled out a pen and wrote something else. She handed it back to Steven. She had gotten his name right! Yumi wanted to laugh, but everyone knew she could nod and shake her head as any kind of non-written communication. Her smile shrank and sadness welled up, tears pricking at the edge of her chocolate eyes.

"You want something to remember me by?," Steven asked, his voice lingering on the word remember. He watched her nod.

"Hmm… Let's say there are three stones in front of you. One red, one blue, and one green. You can only pick one because the shift in weight will cause the others to fall through, let's say, some sand they are resting on.," Steven said as he pulled three colored marbles out of his pocket.

Yumi pointed to the blue rock. She was of the opinion that no matter what scientists said, a rock was a rock and a stone was a rock. The stones, specifically evolution stones, just happened to be prettier for the most part. Steven laughed and took a PokéBall out of his pocket. He set the device in Kotone's small hands, watching as she smiled again before hugging him.

"That is a Mudkip, a rare Pokémon from Hoenn. I think you'll be a better friend for him than I will.," Steven said as she stepped away from him, "Promise you'll take good care of him for me, alright?"

Kotone - Yumi - nodded and almost immediately switched her team around so she could walk with the little mudfish. Well, more like pick up and cart around for a while before slowly easing him into her team, Steven remembered. True to his memory, she picked up her Mudkip, then waved to him before leaving the building. Steven gave a slightly pained smile as he watched her walk away, then his gold eyes caught sight of her paper, neatly folded with name wrote on the outside in passable English. Speaking English was apparently much easier than writing English. He reached out and grabbed the paper, both unfolding and reading the small note slowly. When Steven finished, he refolded the note and placed it in his pocket.

Steven left Silph Co. without a word to anyone, his mind turning over every metaphorical rock for any clues. She had wrote that Yumi wasn't her name. Hell, he knew that… but the way she skirted around her actual name meant she couldn't remember. She couldn't remember anything really - except him. Everyone looked the same no matter what name they were called, but he never changed names according to her. To Kotone, or whatever name her mother called her when she first woke up, he was always Steven. Even when she thought she caught glimpses of Haruka - or May or Delia - the name didn't sit right in her mind. Everything was odd, wrong even, but Steven never was. It clicked as he was flipping through the pages of a Johto Pokédex, the old-fashioned book was a bit more reliable to Steven than Kotone's electronic Pokédex.

He could remember. Everything in that little note, written in basic English and teetering on the edges of insanity, made sense with that one realization. Steven could remember.

He flipped back to the page that had hastened his thought-gathering. It was blank for the most part, only a picture and a few lines of text, but what little was there explained quite a bit. A little green pixie, drawn as if flitting about a meadow or a sparse forest, lie on the page with the words 'Time Travel Pokémon'.

Steven groaned as he fell back, covering his face with book. He could do research on stones all day, but researching myths… Arceus damn it. Fixing this damn mess was going to take quite a bit of work, work that he might not even remember later if he became like everyone else. Steven sighed and sat up again, letting his old book fall into his lap. Might as well start now, physical things seemed to last, for the most part, better than memories. Steven fumbled around for a moment before another thought occurred to him. Where was he supposed to find a Sinnoh Pokédex in printed form?

* * *

_Again, there's not much done in this chapter editing-wise, but leaving something alone for a while before you hack it to little bits is a very good idea. Any who, I hope reading this is still enjoyable and all that jazz. Feedback would be wonderful in this regard, but I'm not picky – feedback is feedback._

_You still need to hold off on the spork-murder plot, the editing – and the writing – is still in progress._

_Feel the love, adieu – Green the Cat_


	4. Rework

Damn, I am good. I have produced another chapter for your reading pleasure. I once read that when you actually start writing your story, you will be pressed by your own mind to work at it because you will desire to reach the end for your both your readers and yourself. The theory has proven to be correct. If anyone is still reading this, info at bottom. Though now that I think of it, that's the last time I type that line. Read and enjoy - or laugh at me, either is fine.

* * *

Yumi lay awake in her bed, her Mudkip curled up near stomach, thinking. She knew that her current quest for answers was moot. Nonetheless, Yumi sunk deeper into thought, her hand petting her Mudkip absently. A trickle of fear brushed through her and she knew, instinctively, what was to happen. She hugged her Mudkip to her, living in Hoenn to allow her to keep the creature sounded like a good idea, but something in her mind screamed out at that idea. So Yumi began a silent chant, her lips quivering in noiseless words: Let me keep Mudkip, let me keep Mudkip, he doesn't even have a name, let me keep Mudkip. Yumi looped this over and over in her mind, in soundless pleas. Though when she finally succumbed to sleep, she felt a small comfort in her soul. It was warm and gentle and as the harsh process of shrinking and erasing thrummed through her, she didn't hurt as much as… before?

* * *

She had officially decided she hated both morning light and sleeping as she woke up. Then it hit her, two realizations that had her jumping up and down while clapping her hands. She remembered something! A small snore sounded from her bed, buried in blankets. She pulled back the covers quietly and - Yes! He was still there! The poor Mudkip was soon woken up by a young girl, smelled familiar though, hugging him while she jumped around a room, and would have bet his breakfast that he knew this room. She knew that whatever name came next was not her name, but someone had to know her from before. She knew it was a guy, then she shook her head. He wasn't just some guy, he was someone important to her. He had to remember her, whenever she saw him. She knew she would see him after… A journey! She smiled and laughed as she collapsed back onto her bed, the Mudkip stunned into silence as he lay on his trainer's stomach, resembling a stuffed toy with his legs straight from either side. She laughed as the Mudkip, he really needed a name, blinked. Abruptly, she stopped and her eyes widened. She could talk, more than likely anyway, though something said English was complicated for her - How old was she? Oh, it was on the tip of her tongue, but she couldn't care less about her age right now. She could talk!

"Celeste Silverton! You get down here right now!," her mother yelled. She was probably in trouble, but her giddiness overcame her.

"Yes, mother!," she called down as she stood up and walked downstairs, Mudkip in tow.

Celeste bounded over to her mother, Mudkip making little cries of protest as Celeste skipped about the house.

"The professor -," her mother began, then was cut off.

"Wants to speak with me?," Celeste asked, shifting from one foot to the other. Her accent was noticeable, but she could actually speak to other people. Celeste was not complaining, a thick accent was perfectly acceptable compared to being completely and utterly silent.

Her mother nodded and gave her a quick, but empty scolding about practicing her English. Celeste nodded and went to leave, but stopped right before the door. She turned to her mother.

"Can you watch him for me?," she asked, raising the Mudkip in question up for appraisal.

Her mother frowned, then smiled and nodded. Celeste set the Mudkip down before crouching down to look at him. She rested her index finger on her cheek as she tilted her head. She nodded to herself before resting her gaze on the Mudkip.

"Koji, behave for mother.," Celeste said, then stood after hearing Koji's yip of understanding. She waved to her mother before setting off for Elm's lab across the street.

She was completely overjoyed to have a Cyndaquil, though the previous name of Jacoby didn't fit the fire mouse. Celeste dubbed him Kaname after an inward promise to give the next Pokémon an English name, for practice. For once, not everything felt so wrong, so terrible as she left New Bark Town and she could only hope that it stayed that way - memory or no memory.

* * *

It was time, she decided. Training on Route 36 was tiring, training on Route 36 until all her Pokémon were mentally prepared - meaning nearly three days straight - for Morty's ghost Pokémon was hell. If anyone asked were she had learned her bad language, she answer that Kamon taught her, which was true. She had no idea such words existed within the bounds of fairly simple pronunciation until Kamon had begun using them around her. The redhead didn't seem to realize he was being used as someone to practice English on and if he did, he didn't comment. Celeste wondered for a brief moment where Kamon came from to not know even a little about the Elm Pokémon Lab. She shrugged and pushed the gym doors open, Kaname following close behind to light up the area around her so she didn't fall. Was that lightning in the floor?! Dear Arceus, what was wrong with some of the Johto gym leaders? At least Falkner was nice, quite traditional, but nice all the same. Bugsy was nice too, but a bit eccentric, though she supposed all trainers were in a way. Whitney nearly frightened her with all the pink, then cried after losing. Short attention span on that one.

Morty, Celeste found, was just as nice as the other two male gym leaders she had met, though again, he was odd. Really odd. She also gained a feeling that only Whitney was more childish than some of the youngsters she had fought before - Joey came to mind. Celeste admired Morty's ghost-types, they were fast. She really needed to get a hold of a ghost-type. Fortunately, Kaname hung in long enough to win her the Fog Badge, her fourth one, and a nice TM. However, Morty's title rang out clear in her mind and she bit her lip. Celeste cleared her throat, a habit she had developed to ensure she could still talk.

"Yes?," the gym leader asked before blowing at stray hair hanging in his eyes.

"You say you can see the future, even if only a little bit, right?," Celeste asked, only continuing once Morty nodded. "Does the future repeat itself to you? Can you see if it's repeating?

"You are correct. I'm clairvoyant, therefore, when something like you described happens, I am aware that it has happened. However, I am only aware that time is repeating. I am unable to remember what happened during the last loop.," Morty said, stopping to give her a calculating look before continuing on. "Though I do see you around, in every loop, no matter what the circumstance and you have some… ghosts, so to speak, trailing about you. I hope that helped you."

Celeste smiled and gave Morty a hug before racing out of the gym, Kaname following behind with quiet snorts of laughter. Well, she thought it was laughter, and she was fairly sure she was right.

* * *

Bang, bang, bang, bang! Celeste was about ready to hand Kaname her PokéGear and let him roast the damnable thing. She glared at it and smacked it against a wall for good measure. A chuckle sounded behind her and Celeste spun around, nearly tripping over Kaname in the process. She felt her cheeks go red when she actually registered who she was looking at.

"Hello, Steven.," Celeste greeted a bit awkwardly. His name was hard with that silly letter in the middle.

Steven nodded in greeting, then frowned at her. Celeste felt her eyes go wide and cheeks get warmer, her hands jerked up to her mouth to cover the 'oops' about to pour from her lips. Fortunately, questioning her speaking wasn't what was on the steel-trainer's mind.

"Do you have a Forretress? I'll trade my Beldum for it.," Steven offered. He hoped to Arceus that this dumb, it really was that bad, idea worked. If not, he was about to hit the books. Again. Literally. As soon as he finished reading them.

Celeste nodded and grabbed Steven's wrist, pulling him toward a PC near the corner of the room. The things were everywhere, really, you could go just about anywhere and find a PC. Not a fucking book though, Arceus damned electronic Pokédex. Though soon, Steven found himself in possession of a Forretress and Kotone, or whatever her name was now, was being fascinated by the Beldum. The Pokémon dropped a dawn stone in her hands before floating innocently behind her as if it had done nothing. Steven was rewarded by a squeal and hug, more like tackle, then a quick kiss on his cheek before she ran off. Not what he was expecting, but then again, he probably never would have dated her, much less proposed, if she did what he thought she would do. All the time anyway. Now hopefully, this hair-brained plan of his worked.

* * *

I feel as cool as an AM radio right now! I am getting progress done on this. Now because I have fucked up my own posting schedule, as soon as I get another chapter or three typed up I will have a plan for regular updates. Now, I'm sure people are getting the idea by now, but to avoid somethings, I will clarify... a little, anyway. When you start HeartGold/SoulSilver, what do you name your character? That question should be plenty to get the hamsters running, though my mental hamster is about to go AWOL.

Any who, I remembered what I forgot! I was thinking about starting another story! I pulled some prompts up awhile ago and, while I was reading a story based on a set, I came up with an idea of sorts. Now, I found the prompts by going to Google and poking around livejournal, I think it was livejournal, I'm fairly sure it was livejournal. I'll be honest, I'm not going to go through the claim thing over there when I don't even have an account there, but if you want to know where I got them that's where. livejournal also happens to be the only site I can find, without too much searching because if you're looking up prompts you're already searching for an idea - let's not nuke our hamsters here, with prompts in A) an easy to read layout and B) actually make vague sense when type 'fiction writing prompts' into Google.

Since we're on the subject, if I'm writing fanfiction - like a nice chunk of people on this site - I already own not a damn thing, ex: Pokemon and the prompts I find online, calling McDonald's 'WacDonald's' or whatever is ridiculous. That is one of my pet peeves about finding a good story on this site, we're already borrowing characters, settings, and so on owned by corporations bigger than fast food companies, why is calling the restaurant by its actual name a problem? If I offend anyone, I apologize... kind of, but with that off my chest I can concentrate a bit better. It's a nagging thought in the back of my head a lot of the time when I'm reading around the site and, like everyone else, I have a right to an opinion. Most people, to my knowledge, give their opinions even when not needed - like I am doing now - and, in doing so, help poor readers like you avoid future rants. I'm actually sorry about ranting, but rather now when it's peaceful than later when I am slowly becoming a rabid fangirl. Damn, that's a scary thought. Anyway, my rant finished, this chapter finished, my soda not even opened, and a few stories between here and there.

Adieu and sorry for the above rant... again - Green the Cat


	5. Realize

I'm back. Man, I am getting a lot done. I am feeling good: so to avoid being drowsy after twenty-four plus hours of being awake just add caffeine and chili dogs.

Also a shout out to eloquentcow, thanks for reviewing!

* * *

Celeste loved evolution stones, no one had any doubt about it. She joined the PokéAthlon numerous times to earn the sparkling rocks, not even Steven or Brock had convinced her to call them stones. Celeste was a top PokéAthlete and easily won events, Koji was a favorite of hers to use in the events. However, Steven had just given her a dawn stone, one of the most expensive stones at the prize exchange. There were quite a few options for Celeste when it came to what to actually do with the stone; she could use it after she caught or traded for the proper Pokémon, she could keep it in her bag until she got bored of just looking at it, or she could hide it and hope that when the 'new day' came it was still there. Her finger touched her cheek and her head cocked slightly, then she twirled about leaving Kaname and the Beldum - Iron - to trail behind her. Kaname shook his head as he started after his trainer, Iron floating behind him.

* * *

She bolted up right in her bed as someone - Ethan? - screamed 'Soul' as loud as they could without causing too much attention… She shook her head, not causing too much attention in New Bark at five-thirty in the morning, right. She didn't bother asking herself why she was in New Bark, when twenty minutes ago she had been in Saffron, she knew. Morty was probably what the hell is wrong with him and she'd have to back through Johto and Kanto again. Wait a minute, her brain screeched as she pulled on some slip-ons. Kanto. Kanto has a psychic-type gym. Sabrina can see the future just as well as Morty. She'd worry about how she'd remembered this stuff later, right now she had to shut Ethan up. She threw a PokéBall out the window, hearing a 'thud' and an 'ow' that revealed that her aim had been true. When she found whatever was messing with time, she was going to - She cut her thoughts off as she saw her Typhlosion curled up at the foot of her bed. She hadn't gone back as far. She frowned, something didn't seem right. Then it struck her that some of her memories of Johto were blurred like a child's first watercolor painting. Vague images of what happened were there, but people with their names and voices ran together. One redhead looked like three others, but she couldn't tell you if there were three redheads or one, five blondes or four, or if those numbers were even right to begin with. Arceus damn it.

Soul climbed out her window, only Ethan would scream for her before dawn. Soul quickly decided that this endless 'perfect' weather had to stop. She wanted rain, she wanted thunder, she wanted the scenes outside to change with her. No, Soul wanted the weather to be faster than her imagination. A wisp of a memory floated though her mind, rainy days with no power and silver-haired man. Soul turned as red as Cherubi and barely managed to clear her head as she landed on the grass below her window. She swiped the PokéBall off the ground and stuffed in into her pajama pocket. She gave Ethan a glare, she was going to feed his hat to Kaname. Ethan rubbed the back head as chuckled nervously, then as quickly as he became nervous, he smiled and leaned towards her.

"I found the coolest thing earlier, but I want you to have it because you can actually use the thing. Come on, follow me.," Ethan whispered, then ran off towards the trees nearby the edge of town.

Soul followed just as quickly, knowing Ethan for as long as she did had allowed her to figure out how to keep up with the boy. When they stopped, she almost ran into him, though when he spun around they were knocked over anyway.

"Ethan.," Soul said, her voice barely above a whisper and sounding like a hiss.

"No one's hurt, right? Right! There's this box behind that flower bush, but I can't get it unlocked and there's this note taped to it. Says something about Unova Pokémon being in the box. Can you believe it! Foreign Pokémon just laying around in New Bark, waiting for someone to find their hiding place.," Ethan said, carrying on when he caught Soul's dull glance. "Well, I figured you could use some more Pokémon, you love to study them or play with them and so on. Since I have Marill, I really don't want another Pokémon, but I'd like to get to see them and help you study them. Silver wouldn't let me near anything of his if I offered him my own house."

Soul thought it over for a moment, then sighed. "Fine, give the box to me."

Ethan grinned wider than the Meowth that ate the Pidgey before fishing the box out of the flower bush and presenting it to Soul with a flourish. Soul smiled at Ethan, then saw the handwriting.

"I'm going to go open this at my house. I'll let you know when it's open and what's in it later.," Soul said.

"Thanks, Soul!," Ethan said before giving her a hug and running back home.

* * *

She never got around to opening the box before she left for Kanto, again in her mind, but there was a damn good reason not to in her opinion. Soul needed to talk to Sabrina as soon as possible and wasted no time in getting to Kanto, beating Surge, and heading to Saffron. Kaname didn't understand his trainer's urgency to speak with psychic mistress, but swept through the gym quickly and without hesitation. He could hear the mysterious box rattle in Soul's yellow bag, though for a brief moment Kaname would have sworn it was tan.

"Sabrina! I need to speak to you! Subject thirteen, sub-category four!," Soul called out over Kaname's roar as the fire-type blasted magma around the gym.

Sabrina frowned, this challenger knew her categories for conversations already? She would have sworn that she would win this battle, but as she looked at Soul a whole world bloomed in Sabrina's mind. She would lose, not just because the trainer before her was that good, but if she didn't lose time would be reset. The psychic mistress had to give in for two reasons: that kind of pain was entirely unfair to put on a person and there was simply no way to bring down Soul's team. She knew to keep her team balanced, good, that made Sabrina's job a hell of a lot easier. It still didn't keep her from flinching when the girl's Togekiss brought down her Alakazam, but the fact that Soul gave her a revive was helpful.

"Now what about did you need to know about my psychic abilities?," Sabrina asked, her tone clipped and to the point.

She watched as Soul dug a locked box out of her bag and the young girl looked closer to her own age of twenty-one as she held the box in her lap. Soul held the box out for Sabrina to look at while she excused herself to heal the Pokémon she had just thrashed soundly moments ago. Sabrina took the box carefully, it was both weathered and unscathed, old and new, cherished and abandoned. She ran her fingers over the note taped to the top: _Kotone, you asked for me never to forget you. I can honestly say I never did forget, but this is a bit agonizing. I remember you, but you don't remember me. Here are some souvenirs from our trip to Unova, you need them more than I do. If you ever remember, you know where to meet me. Love, Steven._

A tear rolled down Sabrina's cheek without warning or permission, she knew this would not end the way either of them wanted. She wasn't religious, but Sabrina sent a quick prayer to both Arceus and Dialga before clearing her throat and wiping her eyes. Soul came back into the room, her hands held behind her back and her cinnamon eyes solemn as she looked at Sabrina with her head hung a bit low for a Champion.

"To undo what has been done, you must become who you were, without the exact memories or even events. You must recreate yourself using what Steven has left for you and your own soul. It is the only thing left unchanged throughout everything that has happened.," Sabrina said. She tried to keep her voice as calm as possible.

Soul merely nodded and took the box from Sabrina, bowing in thanks before leaving the gym.

* * *

Soul cried as she returned home, sixteen badges in hand now. She didn't want any of this, but at the same time she didn't know what she wanted anymore. Soul had Silver and Ethan and everyone in the palm of her hand, but this was someone else's position, not hers. She cried until she simply had no tears left, falling asleep with her head buried in arms, protecting the last bits of herself. Though even she knew, she couldn't be Kotone again, not yet. She had to do something. Kotone Silverton had to destroy this self, the girl whom everyone loved and the girl who never knew her own name. Soul picked a name similar to, but not quite her name. When dawn rose for a 'new life', she would become the lyre.

* * *

Some loving, twisted drama. Hopefully, it doesn't appear as overdrawn as it did when I wrote this. You might wonder about this particular chapter, but I actually wrote this the same day as the last two chapters. However, this is not the end, no where near it actually, but I was getting tired of writing the wake up-forget scene and I'm fairly sure you were tired of reading it. Though, as unfortunate as it sounds, I needed those scenes otherwise they wouldn't be in here. My former English teacher damn near drilled it into my head on how to properly write just about everything I will personally write.

There's a poll on my profile for the next story I'm thinking about working on. The choices aren't exactly what anyone would expect, save for one... maybe. However, as much as I love some couples, I just love working on those ones that make you go 'what the in the hell?' So if you like this, go take a look and vote on your favorite weird couple. I've added this couple just to see if anyone picks it over the others.

May some deity have mercy, I have another story idea. Hopefully, this one doesn't keep me for a day and half with no sleep. Hmm, I'm still tired... interesting. Small note, I wrote a lot of stuff on 9/2/12 and also uploaded on that day. All of it was for this story and the top notes are beginning to reflect my thoughts at the time of upload. ...Oops.

Oh! Depending upon demand I may upload another chapter today.

Before anyone asks, I do not know any French beyond pardon me, please, and good-bye and last one is a loose translation, I think. I might know 'no' too, but I doubt it.

Enjoy your day, adieu - Green the Cat


	6. Rename

Woot! I am damn good! I am on a roll tonight. Any who, enjoy the story!

* * *

Lyra played with ring on her finger, twisting it this way then that. Seeing Gold off had been hard, perhaps because she wasn't the one supposed to him off. Silver had watched her all through the good-byes, his namesake eyes never straying very from her even as Gold spoke to him. Lyra just smiled because Ethan wasn't who he wasn't supposed to be anymore, he was Gold again, though he never he wasn't ever Gold. He didn't know about the box anymore because he was going off to study Pokémon, he would own just as many as she currently did even if they were stashed away. Gold walked away with, of all things, a Cyndaquil trailing behind him.

"Marshmallow head, something out there or are you just crazy?," Silver asked, never once looking at her now that people were gone. It reminded her of a faded memory, then she shook her head and sent her pigtails flying.

"Don't worry about anything, Silver. Excuse me, I have something I need to do.," Lyra said with a shallow bow before walking away.

She entered her house, she was still the last one on the corner and furthest from the outside world. Lyra gave a bitter smile, giving up was easier than she thought it would be though she had moments where all she wanted to see was a man she didn't remember at an age she wasn't sure she had ever been. She had taken to writing all of the quirks he had in a notebook with prism sticker on the cover, just a plain blue-green circle sticker so similar to a dawn stone. Lyra couldn't remember where she had hidden it or who had given it to her, but she had to smile and bear through the pain of destroying everything was. A Marill was now her constant companion instead of the six-foot fire bear she was accustomed to. She called the creature Nene and he complied, easily learning and answering to the name. Lyra clicked her tongue and Nene responded by running into the room. She crouched down in front of the aqua mouse.

"We're going on a trip to Goldenrod, Nene.," she said before standing and gathering what few things she needed for this particular trip. Nene attempted to help by dashing around to collect things and was rewarded by being picked up and held.

Lyra left a note for her parents saying that she was leaving and if they needed to speak with her to call her PokéGear. She set Nene down before she left New Bark Town, then smiled and stepped out of her hometown for both the first and thousandth time. Hopefully, this would be the time she did so as an eleven year old.

Now she had a bug to search for and no time to waste.

* * *

Lyra had finally located the old - new - dawn stone outside of the National Park. She shrugged, figuring she had dropped it in a pervious memory, and zipped the sparkling rock in her bag's biggest pocket. She entered the gate, ignoring the PokéAthlon Dome for the time being, and walked over to the other door with a guard standing by it.

"Today is the bug-catching contest. Would you like to participate?," he asked, to which she nodded and Nene followed her into the spacious park.

Lyra searched for quite sometime before she caught what she looking for. She didn't care about the evolution stone she could have won, though she did win a shiny stone. All that mattered was the green mantis currently residing in a PokéBall inside her bag, the Scyther she had been raising so carefully since the day she had caught him. Lyra had named him Marcus, a fairly suitable name. Though she had had a purpose the moment she left New Bark Town, her memory was fading and she became more and more like the people she spoke to. Only the occasional shift from her Mudkip's PokéBall reminded her of her task, though the man - she had long ago forgotten his name - kept getting blurrier and blurrier. The names she had given her Pokémon were fading as well. Lyra hoped she could remember, but there was a small part that wanted to forget everything. She worked and competed several times for hours on end to earn her next goals, the Speed Course offering the easiest points the fastest. She ran until she had completely given in, her legs unable to hold her own weight and she leaned heavily against Marcus. The Scyther and her ever faithful Marill nudged her in the right direction, towards a bench where their trainer could rest. Her dull brown gaze rested on the package in her arms, a shining graphite cylinder poking out of the brightly colored cloth bag. Lyra twisted the ring on her finger before she fell asleep, utterly exhausted.

* * *

Lyra had barely remembered where to go to meet him, the memories got fuzzier as endless days with no real sense of time passed. She vaguely noticed her thoughts looped in the predestined circle that had began when she met Gold and Silver inside Goldenrod, the Department Store to be specific.

"Hey, Lyra!," Gold called, waving at her as she waded through the sea of people. Silver was right, she was short.

Eventually, she reached her friend and Silver, she called him this for lack of something to call him. Then she saw someone who was familiar, yet Lyra had sworn she had never seen before. A girl, older than herself, with turquoise hair and deep blue eyes. Lyra thought she looked ridiculous, but most people thought looked the same.

"Remember me?," the girl asked while bouncing on her heels. Lyra wanted to shake her head 'no', but she felt herself nod.

_Remember me, Kotone,_ a voice echoed and brought Lyra back to the present. Kris - with a 'K' she insisted - was sitting next to her to wait for the Magnet Train to run to Saffron City. Lyra needed to go to Saffron, but she didn't need nor want Kris here to watch her. Something was off about her, like she knew something no one else did. Again, Lyra was dragged from her thoughts, though this time the train whistle was the cause. She stood and entered the train. The ride didn't last long, but she was away from Kris and that's all that mattered to her. As soon as Lyra stepped foot in Saffron City, she sprinted to Silph Co. She knew that whoever she was looking for would be there, though not for much longer. Lyra only had one chance and this time there would be no reset. So she ran faster, clutching the parcel to chest as she weaved through people. Her red sneakers slapped against concrete, the sound momentarily filled her ears, then thunder boomed and rain began to trickle down her face. Lyra held the parcel closer and ran faster, she wasn't the best at the Speed Course for nothing.

The crowd dwindled as rain pounded down on the earth harder and that's when she saw it. Silver hair that looked like it had never seen a comb or a brush before. The owner of the silver hair looked up with golden eyes and sighed. He lifted a hand up as if to hail a taxi, then Lyra ran into him nearly knocking him into a puddle. He caught her with large hands, he was older than Kris and the rest that was for sure. He looked down at her with something akin to shock or disappointment while Lyra caught her breath. When she felt steady enough she looked up and made sure she had the right man. Lyra saw the purple zigzags on the front of his suit and smiled, still breathing a bit heavily. The train station was a quite a bit a ways from the large Silph Co. building.

"I was looking for you.," she said between mouthfuls of air, not catching his suspicious gaze.

"Why?," he asked, his hands raising to grip her shoulders.

"I needed to give you something, if you could answer a question or two.," Lyra answered as she straightened her back, the parcel still held tight in her hands and arms.

The man nodded and he blinked when she smiled up at him.

"What is your name?," she asked, not missing the sad expression crossing his face.

"Steven Stone."

"Did you write this note?," Lyra asked and held out a worn piece of paper with that didn't stick anymore hanging off the corners.

"Yes."

"Are you the one who gave me or will give me this ring?"

Steven took in a deep breath and closed his eyes for a moment before opening golden irises and nodding.

"This is for you," Lyra said, holding out the parcel, "But do you have a Pokémon you'd be willing to trade?"

Steven nodded once more. This wasn't exactly what he had in mind when he gave her the box with their old - not even used - things, but he wasn't about to pass up a chance to have her back. His ringed hands fumbled in his pockets for a moment before extracting a green PokéBall, a Friend Ball. He held it out to Lyra who had since reached into the bright blue parcel and pulled out a single Sport Ball. He raised an eyebrow, but traded Pokémon with her anyway.

"Open it.," she insisted and he complied, releasing the Scyther within.

Steven turned to look at her, but a bright light made him return his attention to the bug-type in front of him. The light shifted and changed, then it hit him. His new Scyther was evolving, but he didn't know that Scyther evolved. When the light faded, a large, red bug greeted him with a surprisingly courteous bow.

"Scizor is a bug-steel-type, but unlike Forretress, Scizor needs to be traded to evolve. Took forever to get Marcus to appropriate standards, but I hope you like him. All I could remember was gray metal, your hair color, and something about rocks.," Lyra said with a smile painted on her face.

"My hair color?," Steven asked, disbelief actually showing on his face as he looked down at the girl who claimed to both remember him and not know anything about him.

"It's silver, kind of like steel and those rings you wear.," she explained with gesture towards his hands. "Oh! Can I have your number? I'm sorry, but three days of running next to non-stop in effort to find you is ridiculous."

Steven chuckled and held a hand out for her PokéGear which was promptly placed in his hand. A few button presses later, Steven returned the device and was handed the blue parcel. He unwrapped part of corner before he was interrupted.

"Sorry, but I have to go. You'll see how to get a hold of me. Besides, if you don't call me, I'll call you. What Pokémon did you trade me?," Lyra said while she tugged at her hat.

"A Snorunt, why?"

"Boy or girl?"

"A girl.," Steven answered, but that was all he got out before she gave him a quick kiss and darted off.

Steven turned back to his parcel and went inside the Silph Co. office building to open it. He ended up unwrapping a notebook with a sticker on the top right-corner of the cover and two books. One was 'A Guide to Sinnoh: All the Pokémon Information You'll Ever Need for Exploring Sinnoh' and the other was 'Pokémon of Unova'. Steven smiled and opened the notebook, noticing a number printed neatly on the inside of the cover beneath the sticker.

* * *

Damn, four chapters in one day. This was typed on the same day as the previous three, but for some vague form of organization, you are obviously not reading this on that day. Now we're getting somewhere, Kris is back, Kotone almost forgot everything, and Steven nearly took a taxi away from his last hope to get things back to normal. Lots of events from the sleep-deprived author, but I'll get back to you soon. Speaking of this, should I add another genre to this story? If so, what genre?

However, while I'm still functioning, I remembered something. It's about flashbacks and I'm going to paraphrase what the book said, note: I didn't write the book. The author of said book was actually a published author offering some tips to those who read the book, but the book was at the school library and I graduated not too long ago. Thus, I can't get a hold of it right now, and while it was an older book, the info inside the book still holds valid. I examined some books while I was reading this to prove this theory. Now, when you see a flashback around this site, it's usually indicated with the words 'flashback' above and 'end of flashback' below the actual passage. This actually loses people's interest and the author said that to write a successful flashback, it needs to appear almost not there at all. One 'had' to introduce past event sequence and then a 'now as Paul...' or something similar to that effect and viola! One flashback without distracting a reader! It's a nice little tip I found because I was once one of those people who set the flashback into a little set off section in the story. Now, small note, only use one 'had' in the entire flashback or otherwise it falls apart. It might take some time to learn how to tailor the length appropriately, but it's worth it. So a writing tip I learned from me to you, see reading some non-educational in nature is educational, then again that last sentence might just be from my lack of sleep. So ignore my ramblings for now and wait, half-ass patiently.

Either enjoy the reprieve or ignore the reprieve of my nonsensical ramblings, adieu - Green the Cat


	7. Reconnect

The sun is shining, the birds are singing, and I am typing. Ah, such a lovely day. Enjoy your day.

* * *

Lyra had traveled to Ecruteak on a whim, wanting to see the Bellchime Trail. She also needed to buy a kimono for an upcoming festival. Nene trotted behind her, occasionally stopping to poke at a stray leaf. Lyra spun around, twirling leaves with her as she continued her dizzy path toward the Bell Tower. A hand grabbed her as she made a final twirl that nearly sent her toppling over. She laughed and turned to meet her helper, Nene hugging his trainer's leg as she swayed to some music no one else heard. Lyra's brown eyes met silver and her smile froze in place.

"Hello, Silver.," she greeted, her cheeriness dimmed, but not diminished.

The redhead in question nodded and watched her for a moment before letting go of her. Lyra watched as the wind pulled dried leaves from their lofty perches in the trees above her head. She tugged at a ponytail as Silver watched her dance in the falling leaves. Hmm, it was autumn already? Lyra fell back onto a pile of leaves, fascinated by the way they scattered and blended, then revealed Silver. The leaves blended with Silver's crimson hair like Steven blended with rain. Lyra was willing to bet that Steven looked completely at home in the snow. Snow… a white kimono, maybe pale purple or perhaps a deep blue with a golden obi. That sounded like a brilliant idea, though her musings were cut short by Silver's cold voice resounding through the chilled air making the world seem so much colder.

"What were you doing in Saffron the other day?," he asked.

Lyra looked up at her temporary companion, then decided to blow a raspberry. Even Silver was having a hard time popping her happy bubble. When he glared down at her, she just smiled until he looked the other way. The silence Silver seemed to carry with him was broken by the ring of her PokéGear, a quick glance at the caller ID showed that Steven was on the other end. Lyra flipped open the device and held it to her ear.

"Hello!," she said, probably a bit too excited for the call if the scowl Silver gave her was any indication.

"Have I ever told you that you are sneaky?," the man on the other end asked.

"Just now."

"May I ask where on Arceus' green earth you ran off to?"

"I'm in Ecruteak at the Bellchime Trail. Silver's here for some reason.," Lyra answered, watching as Nene played in the leaves.

"You do have a Pokémon with you right?," he asked.

"Of course I do! Why do you ask?"

"Silver was with Crystal before time started acting funny. I honestly have no idea why it didn't affect me.," Steven said, his voice trailing off towards the end.

"You know Kris?," Lyra asked as she stretched out on her 'leaf bed'.

"Yes, I did. She was your older sister… Ko- Lyra, is Crystal acting odd at all?"

"A little, I guess. I'm not around much any more.," Lyra said, then heard a snort from Silver's direction. "Shush, Silver. That was rude."

"I see his personality is still the same."

"Are you the same?," she asked.

"For someone ten years older mentally than they are physically, yes."

"Hey! Do you want to come to the festival in Ecruteak with me?," Lyra asked as she decided to make a leaf angel.

"I guess. Just one thing… No octopus on a stick."

Lyra laughed as she heard the hesitation in his voice about the food, but she agreed with a quiet explanation of when it was and how to get to Ecruteak. Steven insisted that they meet in Goldenrod at the Magnet Train Station. How he got her to agree to go the station, she will never know and, judging from the dumbstruck look on Silver's face, neither will he. She gave another peal of laughter as she and Steven said good-byes and hung up their respective phone-like devices. Lyra leveled a glare at Silver when she finished with the call.

"Is something wrong?," she asked.

"Who in the hell is he?"

Short and to the point, Silver lacked any sort of tact, though occasionally he tried to be considerate. Lyra got to her feet, batting away Silver's hands and setting another glare at him. The redhead looked genuinely surprised, but she didn't care at that exact moment. With a click of her tongue, Nene was following Lyra back to the main square of Ecruteak. She had to bite her tongue to keep curse from rolling off the appendage. Another hand grabbed at her shoulder and Lyra spun on her heel to face the - Whoops! The woman she was currently at was not Silver, no way in Darkrai's nightmares. Lyra bowed and apologized when she noticed that the woman before her was one of the Kimono Girls of Ecruteak City.

"Is something troubling you?," she asked, her voice soft and melodic.

"Silver and time itself.," Lyra answered.

The look of disbelief that painted to woman's face would have been funny if it weren't for the fact that Lyra was incredibly angry with Silver. What right did he have to boss her around? When she got a hold of a pair of scissors, she was chopping off that hair of his. He probably needed a trim anyway.

"If you want to listen, do you know somewhere quiet we could go to talk?," Lyra asked.

The lady merely bobbed her head once in acknowledgment, then strode off, not bothering to look to see if the brunette was following her. Lyra sighed, first Silver and now a snooty Kimono Girl. Oh, well, might as well get everything off her chest. She fell into step behind the woman, quietly observing the way the kimono moved when she walked. Lyra wondered if she could convince Steven to wear traditional dress for the festival. Soon they stopped, the woman sat down and motioned for Lyra to sit while she arranged the layers of her kimono. Lyra waited for the woman to finish before speaking.

"I have been reliving my life since I was ten or eleven nearly ten times over now. I can't really remember anything except bits and pieces. A man named Steven Stone has been reliving these years too, but he can remember what happens to him. Some girl named Kris, who Steven says is my older sister, came out of the blue and keeps trying to play matchmaker between Silver and me.," Lyra said, only taking a few moments to even breathe. She needed to tell someone that little story a long ago apparently. The Kimono Girl took out a fan, flicking it open to look at it before snapping it shut.

"Arceus is angry and Celebi is missing. You, my dear, attract quite a bit of trouble.," she said.

Lyra mumbled a bitter 'thanks' under her breath.

"However, from what you didn't tell me, I think your sister has caught a Pokémon she was not meant to catch."

Lyra's jaw dropped slightly, someone like Kris not being able to catch something… damn near impossible. If she wanted it, she caught it, that simple.

"Release the guardian and this cycle should stop.," the woman continued before standing and walking away.

"Release the guardian?," Lyra repeated, touching her finger to lip before running it up her cheek and resting her cheek her hand. Hmm, now how was she supposed to do that?

* * *

Steven just stared at her, Kotone was losing her mind in his opinion. After that thought, he also really wanted to smack himself. Steven had to keep reminding himself that Kotone wasn't Kotone at the moment. The brunette insisted that he called Lyra until she felt more secure with herself. He was beginning to agree with the thought that if Koto- Lyra didn't have the ring, then he was crazy. Plain and simple. Steven was really beginning to question his own sanity when he focused in on the fingers snapping in front of his face.

"Welcome back to Earth, Steven. How was the moon? Is it lovely this time of year?," Lyra asked resting her hand of on her hip.

Steven gave her a half-hearted glare. Nope, no matter what name she took or what she remembered, she was always Kotone. He remembered when she first gave him that look before challenging him to a battle to prove her point. He reigned his thoughts in when another snap alerted him to her increasing ire.

"Kotone… I mean, Lyra, both things you're asking of me are ridiculous.," Steven said as he ran a hand through his hair.

"I'm asking you to read a book about Johto myths and legends. If you don't want to buy a copy, you can borrow mine. Now, asking you to attend a festival in traditional clothes is not ridiculous, you just don't want to or you don't want to lose an argument with me.," Lyra said while her hand squeezed, then smoothed out her bag's strap.

Steven took a step back, if she swung he didn't want to be hit. He knew she was not as delicate as she appeared to be. Kotone, or Lyra in this instance, would hit you once she got mad enough and the younger she was, the easier it was to cross the happy-mad line. The cue to step back was when she started clenching whatever was in her hand or tugging her jacket, then smoothing the fabric - because it was always some kind of fabric - back out and repeating until - Steven ducked from the hit and stayed far away from thinking.

"All right, you win. I'll find… something to wear.," he said while rubbing his arm. When he ducked from the punch, she had pinched his arm when he wasn't looking.

"I thought you were taller.," Lyra said, almost out of the blue, but Steven figured something along those lines was about to come out of her mouth.

"You happen to be tall for an eleven or twelve year old. Silver calls you short because he is not only two or so years older than you, he's tall for his age.," he said. Steven was starting to be of the opinion that he needed to talk with Silver, then shook his head. He wanted to enjoy his piece and quiet for a few years before Silver started sending glares his direction everyday, not search out the means to start the issue early.

Lyra nodded and pulled at his sleeve, pulling him along towards Pewter Museum. Steven smiled and laughed as the girl chattered along the way, talking about some trivial thing or another - blue or pink cotton candy, Arcanine or Ninetales, and so on. Steven would worry about why Silver disliked him later because, right now, Lyra was busy looking at stones with him. Yeah, Silver could wait 'til a later a date.

* * *

I have learned to be subtle, as subtle as I can possibly be at this point in time. Lots of important info in this chapter, lots. Lots of hints for later chapters too. But who cares about that right now, besides me?

Some things came up and there's going to be a few days between updates now on this. I'm estimating that a new chapter should be posted within three days of the last update. I will get this done, this is my goal for this month. However, due to lack of hearing from me, I will post a one-shot for Steven x Kotone. It's quite a bit lighter in content than this story.

I have two ideas for some stories. One is definitely another Kotone x Steven that is a bit lighter in content, not language... probably anyway. The other one is an undetermined pairing, thus why I have a poll up, but I'm starting to lean towards this pairing again. Oops, I lied, just remembered a thought about a Morty x Kotone idea I conjured up before going to bed. Well, I think I'll start working on one of them soon.

Be back soon - Green the Cat


End file.
